I Know What Love Is
by Poo2110
Summary: Bella and Alice are small town girls from Forks, moving in with their cousins in Phoenix. What does the big city have in store for them? Chapter 12 now up! Normal pairings, all human.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys this is my second fanfic. So here's the summary, I was actually inspired by this show which I watch every day:**

**Everyone is in college by the way. Bella and Alice are small town girls from Forks. They move in with their cousins Tanya and Tyler in Phoenix who hate them and want them to leave. So Tanya and her gang keep coming up with ideas to get them to leave. Cna Bella and Alice be strong and keep their faith in what they believe or will they let their walls down? Bella is still klutzy and Alice is still hyper-active Alice. Edward is a popular guy, but he's not a player. He just likes the company of pretty girls. Tanya likes Edward. But Edward is waiting for his "dream girl". And... ya, I'll let you read now.......................**

Chapter 1

"Edward! Edward!" The crowd chanted. Edward scored the final basket of the game, winning the championship. He smiled victoriously. The crowd rushed to congratulate him. Edward greeted everyone coolly, anticipating the party afterward. He and Tyler took a quick shower and headed down to the cafeteria. There, there is a party in honor of the team, and especially for its star player, Edward.

Cake is cut and champagne is drunk. After the initial celebrations, the party calmed down a bit.

"Hey Tyler, where's Tanya?" Edward inquired. He looked around, searching through the crowd. He caught a glimpse of Tanya's strawberry blonde hair. He and Tyler pushed their way through the crowd to the small table where the gang sat. Tanya had a glum look on her face.

"What's wrong, Tanya?" Edward asked with concern. She looked away, moodily. "Guys, what's wrong with her?" He looked at the rest of his friends, awaiting their answer. His eye traveled from Emmett's face to Rosalie's to mike's to Jessica's to Tyler's and finally landed again on Tanya's face.

"You've already thanked everyone here. Everyone except me." Tanya pouted. Edward smiled sympathetically.

"Oh, so is that why you're so upset?" Edward asked. "Well you know what, Tanya?" He turned her face towards him. "Normal people get normal thanks. But special girls," he smoldered his eyes at her, "get special appreciation." Tanya looked at him, a smile tugging at her lips. "And you are special." Tanya sighed dreamily. A peon from the office approached the group, a letter in hand.

"Tanya, there's a letter here for you." He handed her the white envelope and scurried away. Tanya opened the envelope and read its contents, her expression changing from bliss to horror. She shrieked. Tyler jumped out of his seat. He snatched the letter from her hand and read it. His face had a look of fright, too.

"What's written on that?" Edward raised his eyebrow.

"Uhh… nothing…" Tyler trailed off. Tanya shot him a warning glance.

"Come on, tell us," Edward challenged.

"Tyler!" Tanya ordered. Tyler was clearly on edge. He was fidgeting in his seat.

"I can't tell you, Edward." Tyler complained. "Tanya told me no, so that means no. And anyway, why would I tell you that my two cousins are coming from Forks, Washington?" Tanya was furious.

"Tyler!" she screamed. Her usually pale face was red. Tyler wasn't the brightest light. He pretended to be macho and tough, but he was actually a coward, and was afraid of Tanya. Tanya on the other hand was vain, and selfish. She believed that she should get everything she desired.

"Cousins, huh?" Edward smirked, clearly enjoying himself. "Are they hot?"

"How can I say that? They are my cousins!" Tyler replied, frantic.

"So what if they're your cousins? We can still think they're hot," interjected Emmett. Rosalie jabbed Emmett with her elbow. "Oww. Sorry Rose."

Tanya stood up abruptly. "Shut up Tyler. They're from a small town called Forks, somewhere in the middle of nowhere in Washington. And they're nothing of your type!" She argued. "So don't you dare-" she pointed her finger at Edward. He held his hands up in surrender.

"Ok, ok. I was just asking." He replied. Everyone know that Tanya liked Edward as more than a friend. Even Edward knew. But he was content with friendship, and he didn't think of Tanya in that way. He was good at heart, even though he was mischievous. He couldn't hurt anyone and it was difficult for anyone to keep a grudge against him.

"Who is your type of girl, Edward?" Tyler asked, making obvious motions in Tanya's direction. Tanya slapped him on the arm.

"Shut up, Tyler." She snapped. No one noticed Edward, who walked off to the side, staring into space. _My dream girl,_ Edward thought. _When I see her it'll be like a thousand violins are playing in my mind. When she smiles, it'll be like the whole world stops. When she's happy, the sun will shine. When she -_

"We need a plan." Tanya finally said, interrupting his thoughts. "We need to ensure that they feel so out of place and hate it here so much, that they'll pack their bags and leave Phoenix forever." The seven of them gathered around the table, conspiring against the two girls from Forks who would soon be there.

**A/N: Please review, I LOVE REVIEWS !! They're like a drop of water in a drought; pleasant and refreshing. LOL, I don't know why I said that, but review !!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I'm sooooooooooooooo sorry I haven't been able to update. But the thing is, I have so many exams, and so I have my 2nd term exams from December 1st. I will try to update, but if I don't update, then don't hate me, cause studies are first priority. I hope you like this chapter. Thanks for all the reviews !!! I want more for this chapter.**

Chapter 2

BPOV

"I'm so sorry, but it's not in my control." I told my biology teacher after class. Mrs. Flynn had a sad look on her face. I felt like my heart was breaking. I wasn't the one who wanted to move to Phoenix. Charlie and Renee told me that it was for the better, for both me and Alice. To be honest, I was terrified of moving there. Making new friends and adjusting this far into the year, was a scary thought.

"I know, but you have to take this as an opportunity. You have the potential, Bella." Mrs. Flynn looked at me fondly. "It's your time to shine. I'm sure you'll do just fine." She pulled me into a soft hug. "Take care of yourself. Don't let people change who you are. You don't need to anything for anyone else. Just follow you heart."

I felt tears fill my eyes. I just nodded. My heart pounding in my chest, I turned and walked out of the classroom and into the parking lot of St. Lawrence's College. Wiping my eyes, I looked around for Alice. She waved at me from our car. I smiled and made my way over.

"Bella!" Alice gushed. "Can you believe it? We're actually going to Phoenix! Can you imagine what it's going to be like? I can't wait until-" She broke off in mid-sentence and looked at me scrutinisingly. "Were you crying?" She asked.

"No." I said, unconvincingly. I glanced at her before starting the engine. She sighed. I knew what she was thinking. But it wasn't my fault that my emotions were wired to my tear ducts. The car ride home was silent, yet not uncomfortable.

"Well, I guess we should go finish packing." Alice told me sombrely. I followed her up the stairs to the room which we shared. Most of our packing was done, but we needed to seal the cardboard boxes and pack the other small things. It was about 6 o'clock when we finished. I looked around the room, took in the bare walls, the empty cupboards. I remembered when we first moved here. It had been in grade 2 and I had been ecstatic that we had a house near the woods. Well, I didn't think I would see too much of that in Phoenix. From what I had heard, Tanya and Tyler had a huge house in the middle of the city.

"Bella, we need to leave soon. Can you get ready?" Alice's voice snapped me out of my reverie.

"Sorry," I apologised. "Just feeling nostalgic." Alice smiled.

"Ya, I was too. Though I'm so excited about going there, I can't believe we're going to leave this place." I gave her a hug.

"Let's go," I said. I couldn't bear it anymore. The memories were too overwhelming and if I stayed here any longer, I wouldn't be able to let go. "Alice," I murmured "What do you think Tanya and Tyler are going to be like?"

"I don't know. We'll just have to see, won't we?" She replied thoughtfully. I agreed with her silently. The last time we had seen them was when we were all ten years old. Then, they had been like normal kids. A bit stuck up, sure, but still they were nice. I wasn't so sure now, about how they would be, living in the city, and all. I lifted my carry bag and slung it over my shoulder. Alice and I trudged downstairs. Renee and Charlie sat in the living room, talking quietly.

"Ok," Alice announced when we entered the living room. "We're ready." _Are we?_ I thought. Charlie and Renee stood up and smiled.

"OK, so the taxi is here. I've already paid him, and told him your flight details, so that he doesn't make you late. Please be careful. I've told Aunt Kate to pick you both up from the airport. She's already made arrangements for your stay." Renee said tearfully.

She gave both me and Alice a tight hug, and then went and dragged our suitcase over. I hugged Charlie, too. We put on our shoes and walked out the door. Charlie gave our suitcases to the taxi driver. He put it into the trunk. I walked around to the other side of the taxi and got in. Alice rolled down her window.

"Bye, mom! Bye, dad!" I called as the taxi pulled away. I looked through the back window, and watched the house disappear as we turned the corner.

I closed my eyes and let sleep take over. Sooner than I realised, I had fallen fast asleep.

A tap on my shoulder a little while later woke me up.

"Wake up, Bella. We're at the airport." Alice said. I opened my eyes sleepily and got out of the taxi. "Thanks a lot." Alice grinned at the taxi driver. He just put our suitcases on the sidewalk, mumbled a 'your welcome' and got into his car. He drove away, leaving us standing there.

"Well, let's take this in and check in," I suggested, feeling more awake now. We lugged the suitcases in and stood in line. When it was finally our turn, we checked in our luggage and got our boarding passes. Security check was another long line. We sat at gate 25, waiting to board. Alice was listening to her iPod. I was reading Wuthering Heights. I had reached the part where Heathcliff informs Nelly and Edgar that Catherina was bitten by the dog, when the announcer said, "All passengers boarding the flight to Phoenix, boarding begins now." I nudged Alice and we both stood in line. Once we settled down in our seats, I closed my eyes again. A feeling of dread coursed through me, as I closed my eyes, thinking about what Phoenix had in fate for us.

EPOV (Earlier that evening…)

I rang Tanya's doorbell and waited for someone to answer. She had called me a little while ago, and requested me to come over. She said that Mike and Jessica would be here, too. Tyler opened the door.

"Hey, Edward." He greeted me. "Come on in." We both went upstairs to Tanya's room. She and Jessica were sitting on the bed, while Mike sat cross legged on the floor, leaning against the wall.

"Edward," Tanya cooed. "Glad you could make it." I smiled in return.

"Anytime." I replied. "So what's the plan?" Tanya grimaced.

"They're coming tonight. Mom's going to the airport to pick them up. She even got a room ready especially for them." I was a little irked by the way Tanya was talking about them. Though I loved to play pranks on people, I knew where the limit was. I could never hurt anyone intentionally. Tanya was talking about her cousins like they were from another planet.

"Hey Tanya, do you have any recent pictures of them?" I asked. I wanted to see what these girls looked like.

"Yes." She replied with disgust. "Their mom sent us some pictures which they took on a picnic last month. They're so plain looking." _They probably are,_ I thought, _compared to Tanya who used so much makeup_. She went to her closet and dug through some boxes. She pulled out a white envelope and tossed it over to me. I caught it with ease. The first picture was of Tanya's aunt and uncle. When I got to the next one, I almost dropped it in shock. The girl in the picture was so beautiful. Her brown eyes stared innocently into the camera. Her mouth was pulled up into a smile. Her brown straight hair was fluttering in the wind. She was wearing a simple white shirt. Even without a speck of makeup on her face, she looked amazing.

"This is your cousin?" I asked Tanya in amazement.

"Yes," She said offhandedly. "She's so ugly." I felt my hands trembling in anger. Tanya could be very cruel sometimes, and I felt angry that she could talk about her own cousins with such contempt. Usually Tanya was fun to be around, and the fact that she was popular was another plus point, but she also very vain. Flipping through the rest of the pictures, I saw that the brown-haired girl's sister was also nice-looking. Not as attractive, but definitely good. She was short, and had short hair.

"So, what are their names?" I asked casually.

"Umm, the one with long brown hair is Bella, and the other one is Alice." Tanya said absentmindedly. Bella. Such a beautiful name. I decided then and there that I wouldn't do anything that would hurt them. They were probably coming here to lead a better life, and I wasn't going to be the one the ruin it for them.

"So," Tanya said, breaking into my reverie, "What do you think?" She stared at me, waiting for my answer. Just to please her, I decided to make me reply as inconsiderate as possible.

"They're plain looking." I said scornfully. "Not my type at all." She smirked.

"I knew you would say that," She smiled wickedly. "Now, let's get down to business, shall we?"

The plan we came up with was quite simple. Tomorrow we would hold a party, supposedly for welcoming them. We planned some things to do at the party. Tanya wanted to make sure that they left as soon as possible. But I couldn't wait for them to come. I wanted to meet this girl. Bella…

**Please Review. Whether you like it or not, please review it, coz I want feedback from your side. It would be really nice to get more reviews that I did for the last chapter. So once again, review !!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey hey!! Here's chapter 3!! I made it a bit longer than the other chapters. I will try to update my other story, Starting Over. But I have exams from Monday, so I'll try to type little by little and then update. ok? So don't be all mad at me if I can't update for a while. Anyway, hope you like the story so far !!**

Chapter 3

BPOV

I woke up when the plane landed in Phoenix.

"Let's go!" Alice bounced in her seat. "I can't wait to see everyone!" She took our luggage down from the overhead compartment. Hers was a pink carry bag and mine was a black backpack. I slung it over one shoulder and followed her. We collected our luggage and proceeded towards the arrivals area.

"Do you think we'll recognize her?" I asked tentatively. I was pretty sure that Aunt Kate wouldn't have changed all that much, but what if she had? I scanned the crowd, looking for her.

"Alice! Isabella!" I heard a familiar voice call. I turned my head to the side and saw Aunt Kate walking towards us. She had blonde hair which fell softly just below her shoulders. She was wearing jeans and a shirt. She gave both of us a hug. "How are you girls? It's been so long! You two look so grown up now." She smiled warmly. She pushed a trolley over and loaded our luggage onto that. We walked to her car, a blue Toyota. Soon enough, we were driving to their house.

"So, are you girls excited about starting college here in Phoenix?" she asked conversationally.

"Of course," Alice chimed.

"I hear they have really good libraries," I added. Alice gave me an exasperated look.

"Don't mind her, Aunt Kate." Alice explained. "She doesn't need anything except a few good books."

"Hey!" I argued. "I like books, ok?" She stuck out her tongue at me. We looked at each other for a moment and started to giggle softly.

"Well, here we are." Aunt Kate announced. I looked out the window.

Their house was huge. It was much bigger than our house in Forks.

"Wow, it's beautiful." I commented.

"Come on, let's get all your stuff upstairs, so you can settle down. Ok?" Aunt Kate said. All three of us together carried the luggage in, talking. The inside of the house was more beautiful than it was outside.

"Hey Bella. Hey Alice." A bubblegum voice drawled from the top of the staircase. I looked up and my mouth almost dropped open in shock. It was Tanya. Only, if I hadn't just seen a picture of her, I never would have recognized her. She was perfectly straight hair which came just below her shoulder. She was wearing a super mini skirt. Technically, it shouldn't even be called a skirt. She wore a black halter which exposed a lot of skin.

"H-hi Tanya," I stuttered. Alice smiled hugely at her. Tanya smiled back beatifically. I thought it would be best to not roll my eyes, though I was dying to. Tanya looked artificially beautiful.

"Hey gals," Tyler slid down the huge banister. He grinned goofily at us, eyeing our apparel. "When did you guys get here?"  
"Just now," I told him. I shifted my weight from one foot to the other.

After we took all our bags to our room, I dropped down onto the bed and sighed. "It's not at all what I had expected," I murmured to Alice, who was excitedly putting her clothes in the closet.

"I love it so far!" Alice exclaimed. "Wipe that sad look off your face. Just give this place a chance." She pleaded. She pouted, giving me her best puppy look. I tried as hard as I could, but it was futile. Alice always got what she wanted.

"Fine," I muttered. I got up and pulled the heavy, red curtains aside. The sunlight shone on me, warming me. I looked out over the awakening city. It was only 8:00 in the morning. "I wonder what to do today," I said, mainly to myself. I decided to look around the house, and get more acquainted with Tanya and Tyler since we were going to be living with them.

EPOV

"Hey, dude" I high fived my best friend, Emmett. He grinned at me.

"What's up nowadays, man? You're always with Tanya now. Did I miss something?" His eyes twinkled. I sighed.

"No, no." I shook my head. "It's nothing like that. Tanya'll never be more than a friend. Though I know how much she wants it. Her cousins are here from Forks." Emmett's eye's widened.

"Forks? No way!" He exclaimed.

"I know; I couldn't believe it myself." I was amazed at the sheer coincidence. "How can it happen that two of Tanya's cousins, one who is very beautiful if I might add, is coming here from the place where I grew up?" I shook my head in disbelief.

"Beautiful, huh?" Emmett asked, knowingly. I grimaced. I deserved that one.

"You know that however much I hang out with girls, I'm not _that kind of guy_. And to make things worse, Tanya's hatched this plan to humiliate them so much that they'll want to leave here and go back to Forks."  
"Well, that's not so bad is it? Forks is a nice place." Emmett joked. I scoffed.

"Be serious, Emmett. And Tanya's had made this plan such that I do most of the things. I'm never going to able to live with myself if I hurt either of those girls." I explained.

"I don't know." Emmett admitted. "Do whatever you think is right. A little prank can't hurt anyone, right?"

"I guess." I sighed.

BPOV

I walked slowly through the huge mansion. One of the doors was open. I pushed it open fully, and saw Tanya sitting on couch watching television.

"Hey Tanya," I said, timidly. She looked up and saw me. I thought I saw her roll her eyes, but the rooms was too dark for me to be sure.

"Hey, gal." she said. I forced a smile. I sat down next to her on the sofa. "Hey Bells," she started. "I've planned a pool party tonight."

"What for?" I inquired. She smiled angelically.

"You guys are here, so I wanted to celebrate. You and Alice will come, right?" She pleaded.

"Fine." I agreed. "But we don't have anything to wear."

"I'll lend you something. You look about my size." She smiled. "And I'm sure I can find something for Alice, too." I smiled, a little more naturally. Maybe I had been overacting.

"That sounds great. When is the party?" I asked.

"At around 7. Why don't you guys come over to my room at 6?" Tanya suggested.

"Sure." And with that, I got out of the chair. "See you later."

_Later that night…_

BPOV

"Are you sure this looks ok?" I asked Tanya. She had picked out a light pink dress for me, which came to about my mid-thigh. It was sleeveless, with a patterned neck. I thought it looked nice, but I felt a little overdressed.

"It looks awesome." She told me. Alice was excited, too. She was wearing a yellow skirt and white halter. All those kind of clothes looked good on her, but I didn't think I was pretty enough to pull it off.

"Well, let's go," urged Tanya. "We don't want to keep our guests waiting." We went downstairs and out to the backyard, where the pool was. I had no intention of getting into the pool, since I didn't know how to swim. I had always wanted to, but somehow it kept getting postponed, and never happened. The usually empty backyard was now filled with people.

"Hey Tanya," A high pitched voice cried. I saw a short girl with wild curly hair walking towards us. "Who are you?" She asked Alice and me.

"I'm –" I started.

"You must be Isabella and Alice." Another guy interrupted. "Tanya has told us so much about you."

"Don't mind them," Tanya said. "Jessica and Mike are always like that." I smiled in recognition. They smiled back. Alice and I found a place to sit down.

"There are so many people here," I noted.

"I know. It's so cool, isn't it?" Alice exclaimed. I smiled a little at her enthusiasm.

"Hello," I heard a velvet voice say from behind me. I turned around and saw a guy. He had bronze hair which was slicked down with gel, and was wearing soda glasses. "My name is Edmund." He stuck out his hand for me to shake.

"Oh." I said. "I'm Bella." But before I could shake his hand, he withdrew it.

"Are you always this beautiful?" He asked. I heard Alice squeal.

"Excuse me?" I said, not sure I had heard him properly.

"You really don't see yourself clearly, do you?" I stared at him, unable to tear my eyes away from his sparkling, green ones.

"Hey people, listen up!" Tanya's voice in the microphone startled me. "I'd like all of you to meet my cousins, Alice and Isabella. Oops, I mean, Bella. She doesn't like to be called Isabella." I heard people laugh. My cheeks burned. "OK people. We're going to play some games. First, we're going to be playing that game. What was it? Oh yeah, that blindfold game. We'd all really like it if Bella went first." My eyes widened in shock. I couldn't do it.

"Go on, Bells." Alice urged. "You can do it."

"Are you crazy?" I snapped at her.

"We're waiting, Bella." Tanya said. Edmund smiled encouragingly.

"No," I said firmly. "I can't do it."

"What happened to starting over new?" Alice asked. "I know you can do it, Bella. Just try, at least." I took a deep breath.

"Fine," I nodded. Everyone cheered. I looked at all of them. Tyler scurried over to me, a black cloth in hand. I felt it being tied over my eyes, blinding me.

"OK, first you have to find me." Tanya said. I held my hands out in front of me, and walked slowly, feeling my way around.

"Over here," Tanya's voice came from behind me. I felt disoriented.

"Not over there!" I heard Edmund cry. I stuck my foot out to see if I was going to trip. Suddenly I felt strong hands grab my own. An electric shock jolted me. I gasped.

And then I was falling. I fell into the pool, the water engulfing me, as I sunk deeper and deeper. I yanked off the blindfold, and tried to kick my way in the water. I didn't know where the surface was. I flailed my arms, and when my head broke the surface, I cried out.

"Help!" I cried, and then went underwater again. I couldn't hold my breath anymore. I inhaled, and water burned my throat and lungs like fire. Suddenly, I felt a strong pair of arms wind around my waist, and pull me to the surface.

EPOV

"Not over there!" I cried, as per our plan. I held Bella arms firmly in my hands. I was stunned when I felt some kind of connection. I pushed both of us into the water. I was soaking wet, but I surfaced, and looked over the black water, looking for Bella.

But she wasn't there.

"Someone help her; She doesn't know how to swim!" Alice's shrill voice pierced through all the commotion. I felt a surge of fear course through me. Taking a deep breath, I plunged into the water. Wrapping my arm around her waist, I pulled her to the surface and helped her out of the pool. She coughed a couple of times, obviously still traumatized.

"Bella! Bella!" I shook her. "Are you ok?" She coughed a couple of times, and looked me straight in the eye, not saying anything.

Alice helped her stand up. I got out of the pool. Shit, I was dripping wet. Alice steered Bella away from the crowd. Bella turned back a couple of times to look at me. I stood rooted to the spot, dripping wet, and watched her leave.

Crap. What have I done?

**A/N: Please please read and review!! I want to get lots of reviews!!**


	4. Chapter 4

**HEY!! Here's the next chapter for all of you. Some people were confused as to whether Edward pushed her in because he felt a sort of electric shock. But actually that's part of the plan which Tanya and gang made up. Remember Edward is supposed to execute a major part of it? And yeah, the whole Edmund thing is part of the plan, too. Anyway, read and review !!**

Chapter 4

BPOV

Thank god the party was over. I couldn't believe the nerve of whoever pushed me in. What a jerk. And then Edmund saved me. He seemed like a nice person. Alice complained after we got back to our room about not getting a chance to do anything. I peered through the curtains into the backyard where the party was still in full swing. Sighing, I closed the curtain. It was bad enough that I had a cold now, but I couldn't even sleep, since the music was so loud.

"Bella, why don't you go to sleep?" Alice asked groggily from her bed. I looked over at her. She was already half asleep.

"I can't." I complained. "The music is too loud."

"At least try to sleep." Alice retorted. "And turn off the lights, please." I quickly brushed my teeth and turned off the lights. I slipped under the warm blanket. The music was still irritating me, so I covered my head with my comforter. Somewhere in the process of blocking out the music, I fell fast asleep.

Tanya's POV

"Oh my god, did you see the expression on her face?" Jessica sniggered. I couldn't help but giggle. Phase one of the plan had worked out, thanks to Edward. But how was I to know that Bella didn't know how to swim. Anyway, Edward saved her. That thought brought a new round of laughter. Bella thought that Edmund was Edward's real name.

"Hey, sis." Tyler greeted me, beer bottle in hand. "What's so funny?"

"Where were you all this time? Didn't you see what all happened?" I asked sarcastically. He just rolled his eyes. God, he could be so irritating at times.

"Hey, Edward," I called in my best flirting voice. "Why don't you come over here and sit with me?" He grinned his crooked smile at me. I almost swooned. So many girls were jealous that I was so close to Edward. Edward kept telling me that he only wanted to be friends, but I wanted him more than I had ever wanted anyone. Together, we would be the most happening couple in college. Seeing as I am the sweetheart of the college.

"Hey, babe." He said. I smiled.

"Hey Edward. I was just telling Jessica about how much fun Phase one of our plan was. Except for the fact that Bella didn't know how to swim."

"So what's tomorrow's plan?" He asked.

"We're going according to plan. You remember, don't you?" I batted my eyelashes.

"Of course," he smiled. "Sorry I wasn't very approving of the plan yesterday, Tanya. I was a bit upset. My mom was in the hospital. She slipped and broke her ankle."

"It's no problem at all," I said. "Let's get ready for phase 2."

_The next day…_

BPOV

"Come on, Alice, we're going to be late." I banged on the bathroom door.

"Coming!" I heard her muffled shout from inside. I rolled my eyes. Alice felt the need to dress up a bit for our first day. I was wearing a pair of blue jeans and a checkered shirt. It didn't look that bad, and it was comfortable. The door swung open and Alice came out. She had worn a yellow tank top, with thick straps and dark black jeans.

"Tanya told us to get ready fast, remember?" I chided. "Are you ready?" I asked, apprehensively.

"Yes." She said. "Let's go!" We went downstairs and sat at the dining table. An assortment of foods were spread out across the table. Croissants, bagels, cereal, some fruits, and juice.

"Wow," I muttered. There was so much to choose from. Alice chattered away about what all she wanted to do today. She talked on and on nonstop throughout breakfast.

"Are you girls ready?" Tanya asked from behind me.

"Yes, we'll just be a-" I turned around to tell her. I stopped when I saw what she was wearing. I thought she dressed like that only for parties. She was wearing a very short halter dress which just covered the top of her thighs, with a plunging neckline. "We'll just be a minute." I said. Disgusted by her dress, I turned around to finish my breakfast. We finished eating quickly.

All of us, Tanya, Tyler, Alice and I piled into Tanya's convertible. We drove up to school. All of a sudden Tanya braked.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I left my cheerleading outfit at home!" Tanya wailed. "I need it today, at any cost!"

I thought about it for a minute.

"It's ok," I said. "You can go and get it. Alice and I will be fine."

"Are you sure, Alice?" Tanya asked. Without waiting for a reply, she continued. "Well in that case, fine, I'll go and get it. You guys should be fine here." Alice and I got out of the car. As soon as we closed the door, Tanya sped off, Tyler with her.

"Well, let's go." Alice said to me. I sighed and followed her inside.

After registering in the office, we were walking around in the corridors. As much as I hated to admit it, we were lost.

"Hey Bella. Hey Alice." I saw Jessica and Mike walking towards us. I smiled. Finally, someone who we recognize.

"Where are you two going?" Mike asked.

"We need to find our classes." I explained. Mike grinned.

"Alice, I have the same class as you. Why don't you come with me?" He asked.

"Sure," Alice chirped.

"And Bella, I have the same class as you. Come on," Jessica added.

"Ok." I replied tentatively. She grabbed my hand and pulled me away from Alice. I looked back at her. "I'll see you later!" She nodded in reply. Jessica let go of my hand. In the huge crowd of people, I couldn't find her. Great, I thought, just what I need. Someone tapped me on the shoulder. I spun around and saw Edmund.

"Are you lost?" He asked. I sighed in relief.

"I'm looking for my first class." I told him.

"Can you do me a favor?" Edmund asked me. I looked at him blankly.

"Can you give these flowers," he showed me a bouquet of flowers, "to Edward Cullen? He'll be up in the recreation room." I couldn't understand the expression on his face, but thought I should help him. After all, he _did _save me last night. I took the flowers out of his hand and examined them.

"Can you at least-" I looked up, but he was gone. "tell me what he looks like?" I muttered in frustration.

"Excuse me," I asked the person standing next to me. "Can you tell me where the recreation room is?"

"It's upstairs," He answered in a rude voice.

I flinched back at the hostility in his voice. I went upstairs and saw a room marked recreation room. I pushed open the door. There were a lot of people in there.

"Excuse me," I asked someone. He looked up at me. "Can you tell me who Edward Cullen is?" He pointed to a guy sitting with his back to me. I approached him slowly.

"Excuse me?" I inquired timidly. "Edward? Edward Cullen?"

He stood up and turned to face me. I almost dropped the bouquet in shock. Standing before me was a bronze haired, green eyed man. The same one who had been so nice to me last night. The same one who saved me from drowning.

"Edmund?" I asked, stunned.

He pulled off the glasses and tousled his hair. There was no gel in it now.

"Nope. It's Edward." He said, in his velvet voice. Everyone around me laughed. I felt betrayed and embarrassed.

"Shut up everyone." Tanya said. "Don't make fun of my cousin." She put her arm around my shoulder and steered me towards the door. My breathing was coming out unevenly now.

"Hey," Edward called. I turned and looked back. He looked amused. I burned with anger. "Take it lightly. It's just a joke." I didn't reply. But as Tanya led me out of the room, I could have sworn that I saw Tanya wink at him.

**OK So all of you are probably wondering why Edward is unaffected by the joke. Like I mentioned in this chapter, Esme was in the hospital. So as of now, Edward doesn't really care for Bella in that way. When he saw the picture, he was still a bit dazed by his mom's accident, so he thought that he wouldn't want to play pranks on Bella and Alice. But now he's back to normal. So it'll be a while before he starts to care for Bella. **

**So please, review and make my day!!!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey!! Thanks for all the reviews you guys sent in. Let's try for more this time ok? It would be great if you could tell your friends about how great this FF is, too. JK, but seriously. Anyway read and review. Here is chapter 4:**

APOV

Mike hurried me along the corridor. "So you're in my fashion studies class too? I didn't know many guys like it!" I chirped. He muttered something incomprehensible. "What was that?" I asked.

"Here's the classroom. I need to go and do something, I'll be back in a minute, ok?" He said. I agreed and went in to find a seat.

As soon as I entered the classroom, it went silent. Stunned, I looked at everyone – who were staring right back at me, if I might add.

"Good Morning, Mrs. Cope," they chanted in unison. I raised my eyebrows in confusion.

"Ahem." A voice from behind me said. I spun around and saw a strict looking teacher glaring at me. "Why are you late to class?" she demanded.

"I- uh- actually, it's my-" I stuttered.

"I don't want to hear anything." She snapped. "Please go and sit down." A few people snickered. Eyes looking at my feet, I walked to the desks and found an empty one in the second row. I sat down slowly. Class started and I tried my best to pay attention. I could hear people behind me whispering, and for some paranoid reason, it was like they were whispering about _me_. The person sitting behind me threw a paper airplane, and to my horror and everyone else's amusement, it hit the teacher in the back of the head.

"Second row, third seat," She bellowed. "Please stand up."

Trembling, I realized she was talking to me. But I didn't do anything wrong. Why did she hate me? It was my first day, for god's sake.

"Y-yes?" I asked.

"Maybe you don't know, but I don't tolerate jokes in my class." She said.

"But I didn't do anything," I protested.

"Enough." She said. "Sit down." I was sitting down when she said, "Wait." I jolted up again. "What's your name?"

"Alice," I answered.

"Please make sure this doesn't happen again." She warned. "I'm letting you off today because you're new here."

I was just waiting for the bell to ring, and when it finally did, I sighed in relief. What a first day it was! As I walked through the hallway, looking for Bella, I heard people giggle behind me. When I turned back to look at them, they stopped, and pretended to be busy in something else.

"What do we have here?" A nasal voice asked. I turned and saw a blonde bimbo, the kind they show in movies sneering at me.

"Do you want something?" I asked timidly. Imagine, me asking something timidly! I was always outgoing and confident.

"No, actually I was referring to that absurd sign which is stuck to your bottom." I wrinkled my eyebrows in confusion and tried to look behind. "Kick me. I am an ass." She read. Tears filled my eyes. Who would be so mean and do something like that? Everyone around us laughed. I ran past everyone, searching for the girls' washroom. I saw a sign saying 'WOMEN'. Eagerly, I pushed open the door and shut it. I leaned against the door, keeping it closed. Opening my eyes, I shrieked in horror. There were half a dozen guys in there, all clad in only towels. I covered my eyes.

"Eww," I screamed. "What are you doing in here? This is a ladies bathroom." They all looked at each other in confusion.

"No it's not," they objected. "It's a men's bathroom. What the hell are you doing in here?" They all pushed past me and started banging on the door. "Help!" They shouted. Bewildered, I looked around me and saw some stalls. I rushed into one of them and closed the door. It was suddenly quiet outside. I heard a soft click, and then silence again. Alone, I finally let the tears roll down my cheeks. It sounded like everyone was gone. I needed to wash my face. I unlocked my side of the door, and pushed it.

It didn't budge.

Panic coursed through my blood. My breath came out unevenly.

"Help! Somebody open the door, please." I begged. Defeated, I slumped against the door.

"Is anyone in there?" a voice asked. I jolted up.

"Open the door." I pounded on the door, and pushed it with all my strength. I heard the click of the door being unlocked from the outside. It opened all of a sudden and I flew into the arms of the person who opened it. Their arms were so warm, I couldn't help myself. I broke down crying. Realizing that the person was not responding, I controlled myself, and looked into their face. A tall boy with honey colored hair gazed down at me. I slowly backed away from him and dashed out of the washroom. Remembering the stupid, immature paper stuck onto my bottom, I reached back and tore it off. I saw a trashcan nearby and ripped up the paper to shreds and threw it in. Now if only I could find Bella.

BPOV

Tanya guided me to our first class, which was common. Upon reaching, I sat down in a seat in the third row, trying not to draw attention to myself. Tanya sat with Jessica in the next row of seats. I heard the chair next to me being pulled back.

"Hey, Isabella." A velvety voice greeted me. Anger surged through me. First of all he played such a huge prank on my, embarrassing me in front of everybody, and then he had the audacity to say hi like nothing ever happened. It took all my willpower to not slap him. So I just ignored him. "Don't be like that," he said. "I told you it was a joke." I continued to ignore him. The teacher came into the classroom.

"Good morning, Mr. Banner." The whole class chanted. I accidentally knocked my pen onto the floor. Edward was quicker than me in picking it up. He held it out for me to take. Mr. Banner started to take the attendance. I reached out for the pen, and Edward pulled his hand away. I looked into his eyes, confused. He smirked at me. I tried a few times to grab my pen, but he just wasn't giving it to me. Finally it seemed like he resigned and I snatched my pen out of his hands.

"Isabella Swan!" Mr. Banner's voice scolded. I stood up immediately, looking around the classroom. Everyone was giggling. I hadn't noticed when he had called my name. I was too distracted by Edward to pay attention. I saw him grinning through the corner of my eye.

"May I know the reason for your lack of attention, Ms Swan?" He asked.

EPOV

"May I know the reason for your lack of attention, Ms Swan?" Mr. Banner asked, sarcastically. I looked up at her, awaiting her answer.

"I- I- " she stuttered. I chuckled, and everyone else laughed.

"Is it because you're sitting next to the esteemed basketball star, Edward Cullen?" He continued. Isabella looked over at me. I waggled my eyebrows at her. Mr. Banner turned around to write something on the board. Isabella was still standing.

"Are you waiting for an auspicious time to sit down, too?" He asked. Everyone laughed. I grinned, and watched her expression. I thought she would take it light, too, but as I studied her expression, I saw tears fill her eyes. The smile slid off my face, as I watched her hold back the tears that threatened to spill over.

**OK, so it's a short chapter, but i wanted to update quickly, so you guys woudn't get mad at me. I'm sure all of you hate me, though, since everyone is being so mean to Bella and Alice. And oh, just to let you know, the person who saved Alice was Jasper (in case you didn't figure that out) So please please please review!!!! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry I took so long to update. Thanks everyone for all the reviews !!! I know some people wanted me to update this story, so here's the next chapter. You'll all be pleased to know that Alice and Bella have decided to be more confident !! **

Chapter 6

BPOV

Alice and I met up with each other after my class. She told me about her day so far, and I was stunned by the attitude of the people here. The rest of the day passed by pretty uneventfully. Unless you counted the constant snickers. Or the muffled laughs every time you walked by. I just didn't understand why all these people were being so mean. I didn't do anything to them, so why were they picking on me and Alice? It was too much for me to comprehend. We had to do something about it.

EPOV

I only realised how much Isabella was hurt when I saw the expression on her face.

"She's not like other girls," I told Emmett later. "She was on the verge of tears. I feel so guilty now. I mean, usually when I play pranks on people, they don't take it so seriously." Emmett was spinning a bottle cap on the cafeteria table.

"So what are you going to do about it?" He asked. Emmett was my best friend, closer than Tanya, or Mike or even Tyler. I could confide in him without worrying that my words would become hot gossip the next second, whereas with the others, I couldn't always be sure. I was prepared for that question, since I had already thought about it, and knew what I was going to do.

"I'm going to apologize."

BPOV

Alice and I met up after college and took a cab home. Tanya and Tyler had already left. I was too irritated to find out why. To be honest, I was more comfortable.

"Why is everyone making fun of us?" I asked Alice. Her expression turned sombre.

"I don't know," she said sadly. "I mean, today, one of my teachers was like, yelling at me even when I didn't do anything. How can they judge us like this?" I leaned on her shoulder.

"Alice, I don't think we should let these people push us around like this. I mean, we tried to be nice, but obviously, they are still trying to mess with us. We need to prove that they can't break us." I said. She looked at me hopefully.

"You're right. If I was all independent back in Forks, I bet I can stand up for myself here. I'm just worried about you, Bella," she said softly. "I know that you're shyer than me, and even back home, you used to keep to yourself. Can you do it?" I was touched by her concern, but I knew that this was something I had to deal with. We finally reached home. There was nobody around, so we decided to just go up to our room and hang out for a little while. So, we just sat silently on the bed, not realising the time.

"Hey girls," Tanya stood in the doorway. I mumbled a hi and Alice smiled half-heartedly. Tanya noticed our glum expressions and came and sat next to us. "What's wrong? How was your first day?" Before I could answer, Alice started ranting.

"You wouldn't believe it, Tanya. My day was horrible. _Both_ of our days were awful. I don't know why everyone is being so mean to us. I mean, today one of my teachers shouted at me in front of the whole class. And I didn't do anything. And some people locked me in the boys' bathroom. Ew, do you know how much it smelled in there? And they stuck some stupid paper on my bottom, and everyone was laughing. And I'm sure you know what happened to Bella. Really, I thought people in the city were more civilized. I felt like I was in some jungle, or something. How do you tolerate it everyday?" She took a deep breath after she finished.

"Don't worry," Tanya assured us. "You're new, that's all. I'm sure everyone will get used to you soon enough."

"There's a limit to indecency," I argued. "Alice and I are not going to tolerate it."

"Really?" Tanya asked, surprised. "That's great! I'm so proud of both of you." She hugged us both. I patted her back, awkwardly. "Anyway, I'm sure you both want to catch up on stuff. I'll see you later." She smiled and left the room.

"I have some homework to finish," Alice told me.

"Me, too," I smiled at her unhappy tone. I knew that Alice didn't like homework that much. "Let's get started." I sat on my bed and opened my Biology book. I finished my homework in about forty-five minutes. I glanced over at Alice, who had fallen asleep over her book. I giggled. Though Alice was older than me by a year, she acted like a little kid. It was as if I was the elder sister. I took the book out from under her arms and turned off the lamp. I brushed my teeth and turned off my own lamp. Then, I snuggled under my comforter, and lay awake with my troubled thoughts. Who knew what tomorrow would be like?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I woke up to alarm the next morning. I saw that Alice was already awake. She was wearing a pair of black capris and a dark purple long sleeved top.

"Wake up, Bella," She sang, "Or you'll be late for college." I grumbled to myself as I stumbled out of bed. I was not a morning person and she knew that. I knew she was deliberately trying to irritate me. It was one of her favourite morning pastimes. A hot shower woke me up, and I decided to wear a pair of jeans and a dark blue long sleeved top. I brushed through my hair, quickly, and stuffed my books into my bag.

"OK, I'm ready," I announced. We ate breakfast and the four of us, Tanya, Tyler, Alice and I got into Tanya's car. We didn't talk much. I could feel tension radiating off of Alice, and I tried to smile at her, but I knew my eyes reflected the same tension that she was feeling. _Be assertive_, I reminded myself. We drove in through the gate of the college, and Tanya parked her car in her usual spot.

"We'll see you guys later," Tanya dragged Tyler along with her. I guessed that they were going to meet their friends. Alice and I walked side by side for a few minutes. Suddenly, Alice gasped and clapped her hand to her mouth.

"Oh, crap, I totally forgot!" She squealed.

"What?" I asked frantically.

"I was supposed to do some research for my Economics class, today! I'll talk to you later, Bella. I really need to go to the library right now." She talked so fast, I had to concentrate to catch what she was saying.

"Alright," I agreed. "Bye." She sprinted off in the direction of the library. I wasn't sure what to do all by myself, so I decided to go to my classroom, even though I was early. I walked towards the huge staircase which I had to go up to get my classroom.

"Hey, Isabella," I heard a familiar voice call my name from the top of the staircase. I looked up and saw Edward Cullen grinning at me. I clenched my fist. This surprised me. I was usually a non-violent person. He sat on the railing of the staircase. He gave himself a slight push, and started sliding down the huge banister. As he neared the bottom –and me- I closed my eyes tightly. I didn't hear him hop off the banister.

"Hey," he said softly from less than a foot away. I opened my eyes cautiously and saw him standing almost nose to nose with me. I took a step back.

"What do you want?" I asked, in a hard voice.

"I just want to talk to you," he explained, in a surprised tone. "I think we got off on the wrong foot." I narrowed my eyes at him.

"I don't think there was anything wrong with it except, hmm…" I pretended to think. "You made it wrong. There was no need for you to play a prank like that. Not only you, but everyone else, too. Ever since the minute I step foot into this college, something or the other has gone wrong." I felt tears in my eyes, and I knew he could hear it in my voice. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, calming myself.

"Look, Isabella," he said in a quiet voice, "I'm not here to tease you. I just wanted to apologize." I scoffed. This surprised me. I was usually pretty patient with people, but with Edward Cullen, my patience was wearing thin.

"Apologize? For what?" I asked sardonically. "You didn't even do anything!" His smile faded.

"I know I shouldn't have done it-" He started, but I cut him off.

"Did you finally realize that?" I asked.

"Isabella." He looked me straight in the eye. "All I am asking for is one chance to prove that I'm not the person who you think I am." I was dazed for a minute, looking into his eyes.

"It's too late for that," I said abruptly, and walked away. Maybe I should've forgiven. But then I decided against it. I was almost tempted to go back and say it's ok. Almost.

APOV

When I got to the library, I started to look for the book which I needed. Suddenly, it dangled in front of me. I looked up to see the same boy who saved me in the bathroom yesterday. He smiled.

"Looking for this?" he asked. I nodded. "I'm Jasper." He said, extending his hand. I took it in mine. It was warm.

"I'm Alice," I said, feeling a surge of confidence. "Are you in my class?"

"How else would I know that you need this book?" His eyes twinkled. He hesitated for a minute. "I'm sorry about yesterday." I looked at him blankly.

"What did you do yesterday?" I asked, confused.

"No, no," he corrected himself, hastily, "I mean, whatever happened with you. You should know that people here aren't that bad."

"Well, it doesn't seem like it," I muttered.

"Just give it some time," he encouraged. "Now, do you know what we are supposed to look up?"

"Oh my god, you haven't done it either?" I asked, shocked. He laughed.

"I'm finished. But I can see that you aren't." He handed me the book. "This will be very helpful to you."

"Thanks," I replied. He gave me another grin and left the library. I smiled to myself. Maybe Phoenix wasn't so bad after all.

**Liked it? Let me know by sending in a review !!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Heyyyyyyyyyyyyy everyone. Thanks for all the reviews, though i wish more of you had sent in reviews rather than story alerts and author alerts. But don't get me wrong. I'm so glad that you like my story. So keep reading and don't give up on it. A little more building up of relations in this chapter. So hope you enjoy it!!!**

BPOV

I was pleased, and bit surprised, with the way I handled the whole Edward thing. I walked faster than usual to get to class, seeing as the little 'encounter' with Edward had delayed me. I took my seat, and ignored Edward when he slid into his chair next to me. I fiddled with my pen until the teacher walked into the classroom.

"Good morning, class," Mr. Banner said cheerfully. Wow, he was in a good mood today. I wondered why.

"Today, I'm going to pair you all up, and you'll be partners with that person for the rest of the year." Oh. That was why. "So, without further ado," He said absentmindedly, pulling out a list, "Here is the list."

I sat upright, hoping that I got a good partner. I saw Edward slouch through the corner of my eye. He didn't like to study. Obviously.

I ignored everyone else's name and I was more alert when he called my name.

"Isabella," He said. I ignored the snickers that I heard from all around me. "You will be paired with Edward." I felt like I had been electrocuted. I had to work with EDWARD? I looked over at him. He grinned his crooked smile again. Wonderful, now I had to be partners with him for the whole year.

"Looks like we're stuck together," He whispered in my ear. I tried to ignore him, but it was impossible to concentrate when he was so close to me. Stupid idiot.

"Stop violating my privacy," I hissed and moved my chair away from him. He just smirked. He knew, just like I did, that I would have to work with him in the end, anyway.

Just what I needed; to be partnered with one of the people who I hate most. Now I just needed to make myself immune to his charms. I wouldn't let him get to me.

Tanya's POV

Bella was such a bitch! Why was she paired with Edward? Edward belonged to me! And shouldn't Banner know? He knew that I couldn't bear to be separated from Edward. I watched him whisper something in Bella's ear and she whispered something angrily at him, and move her chair away. I smirked. Well it wasn't like they were going to be friends, or anything. That couldn't happen. It just couldn't.

APOV

We were getting paired up. My teacher was calling out the names. My name was first.

"Alice, and Jasper," She called. Jasper? I blushed. Wasn't he the guy who helped me in the library this morning? The really cute, sweet guy? I looked around the classroom until I found him. He saw me staring at him and winked. I smiled shyly.

Oh my god, wow. I was partners with Jasper.

"Everyone, please sit with your partner," The teacher, Mrs. Miller, announced. Jasper scooped up his books in his hands, and slung his bag over his shoulder. He walked over to the desk next to me.

"Hey, partner," he emphasised the word partner. I smiled.

"Hey," I replied cheerfully. Mrs. Miller gave us a list of topics which we could choose for our first assignment.

"Which one do you think we should do?" I asked. Jasper scanned through the list quickly.

"I think we should start with an average difficulty topic." He explained. "Then, we can keep on increasing the level of difficulty. So," he pointed at one of the topics. "this one looks about right."

"Sounds good to me," I agreed.

"So, you have a sister, right?" he asked, conversationally.

"Yeah, her name is Bella, and she's one year younger than me," I said. "I live with my cousins, Tanya and Tyler."

Jasper snorted. "Tanya? She's about as bright as a dim bulb. No offense. And she seems artificial. And Tyler… well, let's say he's not the smartest guy in the room."

"Ya, I feel that way, too," I sighed. "I mean, sometimes I wonder whether Tanya and Tyler are genuinely happy that we moved here."

"Why is that?" he tilted his head to the side.

"I don't know…" I trailed off.

"So, when do you want to start working on our project? It's due on Friday."

"Friday?" I half-shrieked "that's two days away!" Jasper laughed to himself.

"Exactly. So can you come over to my house today after school?" He asked politely, but I could see a hint of hope in his eyes.

"OK," I said, "but on one condition."

"What's that?" he asked warily.

"We can't study the whole time!" I said. "Only eighty percent of the time we can work on our project, but the rest of time, we have to do what I want! Agreed?"

"Of course," he smirked. "And what exactly do you want do?"

"You'll see," I grinned cunningly. I was thrilled by the idead that he actually didn't mind doing something else, but I didn't let it show. He might think that I was a hopeless pushover or something. Which I wasn't. I had never really felt this way about anyone before. It was like some strange magnetic field which was attracting me to him. I shook my head to clear all those kind of thoughts. As if I needed them.

BPOV

Edward kept trying to make conversation with me, but I just ignored him. I think he got the hint because he became quiet after a little while.

"So, when do you want to get together?" he asked me.

"Excuse me?" I asked, incredulously. Did he just ask what I think he asked?

"When do you want to get together to work on our project?" he enunciated each and every syllable, as though he were talking to a five-year old child. "You should come over to my house. There will be fewer distractions." He smirked.

"There is no way I am coming over to your house," I snapped at him. His smirk grew wider.

"That's fine with me. I usually flunk classes, anyway. But I wonder how you would feel getting an F. I bet you even haven't gotten lower than a B+." I tried to ignore him, but he had hit his target. Of course I hated getting bad marks. He was wrong about the B+, though. The lowest was an A-. I never did things half-way. I sighed, though it was more of a sign of resignation.

"When should I come over?" I asked in an exasperated voice.

"Anytime after 4," he replied cheerfully. I groaned and buried my head in my arms.

"Fine," I knew he would hear only my muffled voice, but I couldn't care less. "I'll be there are 4." I wasn't going to last even till 5.

**OK, I really want more reviews this time, so please could everyone review? Please? I'll be eternally grateful (No pun intended)!!!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Yay !! I finally updated !! Sorry to everyone, coz you had to wait for so long. I'll be updating my other two chapters, too, pretty soon.. Anyway, I hope you all like this chapter.**

Chapter 8

BPOV

"Hey Alice," I caught up with her after class. "You will never believe who I got as a partner." I noticed a slightly dreamy expression on her face. "What's up with you?"

"Oh, Bella, you'll never guess who _my_ partner is." She smiled.

"Who?"

"Jasper." She said. I stared at her.

"Who's Jasper?" I asked confused.

"He's the guy who saved me in the guys' bathroom that day, and he's so cute, and sweet and considerate, and-" She blabbered on.

"Looks like someone has a crush," I teased. Her cheeks became faintly pink. "Anyway," I continued impatiently. "Edward Cullen is my partner!"

"Seriously?" She whirled around to face me. "Oh my god, poor you. When are you guys supposed to work on the project?"  
I grimaced. "He wants me to go over to his house today after school."

"Well," Alice wrinkled her nose. "Usually I would condone such attitude, but it's part of your term grade. You can't not work on it. Just bear with it for now. If he irritates you, just tell me. I'll take care of him." I smiled at her protectiveness.

"Don't worry about me. I should be fine. So when are you and Jasper working on your project?" I asked.

"I'm going over to his house today, actually," She said excitedly. "And I told him that we aren't going to work the whole time. He was a little stunned, but he agreed. You know that nobody can resist me."  
I laughed. "Yeah, yeah. So you say."

"Anyway," She said in a frenzy, "I'll catch you later, I'm getting late for my next class. Bye!" She hurried away. Come o think of it, I was getting late, too. I rushed to my next class, dreading the end of the day.

When the last bell rang, I winced. Great. Now I had to go to that stupid Edward Cullen's house and work on a project which I could ace if I worked by myself. I knew that he would pull down my grade. Idiot.

"So," A suave voice near my ear whispered. "Ready to work?" I pulled away from him.

"Yes," I replied curtly.

"Good." His eyes twinkled. "I can give you a ride to my house." I rolled my eyes.

"Edward Cullen, if you try anything funny, I swear I will-" I started.

"Relax," he interrupted. "You're safe with me."

"Yeah right," I muttered under my breath.

"Shall we?" he gestured toward his car. Grudgingly, I walked to his car and got into the passenger's seat. He slid into the driver's seat swiftly and started the car. Classical music drifted from the speakers.

"You like Clair de Lune?" I asked in surprise. Strange. He didn't seem like that kind of person. He looked surprised, too, and studied my expression for a minute before replying.

"You know Debussy?" He asked.

"Sure, I listen to classical all the time. But I didn't think you would know about classical music." I shot. He gave me an exasperated look.

"Who I am at college isn't who I really am." I looked quizzically at him. "For instance," he continued. "Nobody in college knows that I play the piano."

"Then why are you telling me?" I raised my eyebrows.

"You're different." He said simply. I looked down at my lap and suppressed a smile. Maybe I had been wrong about Edward. Maybe there was more to him than meets the eye.

"Why are you like this, though?" I asked in a whisper.

"I don't know." He replied. "Maybe it's just how I cope with things. Hiding the real me, holding up a mask, so that nobody sees what I really am. I've done it so many times, that it's become routine now. Here's my house." He parked in the parking space and got out of the car. His house was pretty much the same size as Tanya's. It was so beautiful.

"Wow," I breathed. "You have a beautiful house."

"Sure," he shrugged and led the way to the door. "It's just another thing that money can buy."

"Where are your parents?" I inquired, looking around the empty house. He stiffened and I instantly regretted asking.

"They aren't here." He said softly. "They hardly are."

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

"It's not your fault." He shook his head. And then a radiant smile lit up his face. "So are we going to work on this project or not?"

"Umm, ok," I replied hesitantly. "Where are we going to work?"

"Would you mind if we went to my room?" he looked apprehensive. I agreed quietly and followed him up the stairs. When we walked into his room, I gasped. His room was very large, and very neat, something completely unexpected.

"What?" He asked, noticing the shocked looks on my face.

"Nothing," I mumbled. "It's not like what I had expected."  
"What did you expect?" He asked, raising one eyebrow. I muttered something incoherently. We sat at his desk and started working on the project. Soon enough, I found that it was easy to work with him, and he made the whole thing a lot less tedious by joking around, and making me smile once in a while. We finished more than half the project in about two and a half hours.

"See? I bet you thought you wouldn't get anything done," He accused mockingly.

"I was wrong," I admitted. "You're a totally different person than I thought you were. Anyway, shall we stop working for today?"

"Sure," he agreed. "I thought that was supposed to be my line!"

"Hah!" I scoffed. "You wish."

"Do you want to listen to the radio or something?" I nodded and he walked across his room and turned on the radio.

_I still hear your voice, when you sleep next to me.  
I still feel your touch in my dreams.  
_

"Oh, wow!" I gasped. "I love this song!" Then I blushed, remembering the lyrics. He raised his eyebrows inquisitively. I just shook my head. He stood up and held out his hand.

"Would you like to dance?" He said in such a serious voice that I wouldn't have realized he was joking except for the twinkle in his eyes.

I snorted. "Are you crazy? Me? Dancing? And with you? And to this song?"

"How about less questions and more answers," He suggested. "So, will you?"

"Will I what?" I asked, self-consciously.

"Dance with me," Edward was getting impatient now. I hesitantly placed my hand in his. His hand was warm.

_Forgive me my weakness, but I don't know why  
Without you it's hard to survive._

'Cause every time we touch, I get this feeling.  
And every time we kiss I swear I could fly.  
Can't you feel my heart beat fast, I want this to last.  
Need you by my side.  
'Cause every time we touch, I feel the static.  
And every time we kiss, I reach for the sky.  
Can't you hear my heart beat so...  
I can't let you go.  
Want you in my life.

Your arms are my castle, your heart is my sky.  
They wipe away tears that I cry.  
The good and the bad times, we've been through them all.  
You make me rise when I fall.

'Cause every time we touch, I get this feeling.  
And every time we kiss I swear I could fly.  
Can't you feel my heart beat fast, I want this to last.  
Need you by my side.  
'Cause every time we touch, I feel the static.  
And every time we kiss, I reach for the sky.  
Can't you hear my heart beat so...  
I can't let you go.  
Want you in my life.

'Cause every time we touch, I get this feeling.  
And every time we kiss I swear I could fly.  
Can't you feel my heart beat fast, I want this to last.  
Need you by my side.

We danced for that song, fast ballroom dancing. I was laughing so much, and having a great time. Edward twirled me around so many times. When the song got over he let go of my hand, and I tripped over one of the stools in the corner. Edward caught me around me waist, and I looked up to find him just inches away from me.

**By the way, for those of you who don't know, that song is 'Every Time We Touch' by Cascada. OK, so now you know what to do. Please, please please review this chapter. Just send in a smiley face, if u want. I don't mind. But I want some kind of feedback from you people. So send in lotsa reviews !!!!!!!**


	9. Chapter 9

**YAYY !! I updated !!! Hope you guys like it. Don't forget to read my other stories.**

_Previously: __When the song got over he let go of my hand, and I tripped over one of the stools in the corner. Edward caught me around me waist, and I looked up to find him just inches away from me._

Chapter 9

BPOV

I couldn't look away, and his gaze was so intense.

"Ahem," Someone cleared their throat from the doorway. Edward let go of my at once, startled, and I of course fell on the floor.

"Edward!"

"Oops," he said. "I was surprised, so I guess I kind of dropped you."

"Kind of dropped me?" I glared at him. I got up and looked over at the door where a large, burly guy with curly brown hair stood.

"Ohh, umm, sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt or anything." He looked at us uncomfortably.

"No, no." I interrupted. "You weren't disturbing anything. I was just about to leave." I scooped up my books and put them in my bag. I hoped that they couldn't hear the slight hysteria in my voice. I walked to the door. Pausing, I turned around and looked at Edward for a fraction of a second. And then I left. Once I was out of the house, I let out a deep sigh. Thanks goodness that was over. And yet, it hadn't been so bad. Maybe I was seeing a new side of Edward. One that I hadn't seen before. At any rate, I still couldn't judge him. What if he did a 180 on me? No, I decided, I couldn't trust him. Not yet.

EPOV

"What the hell are you doing here, Emmett?" I shouted at him, when I heard the front door close after Bella left.

"What?" he shrugged. "I came to see if you wanted to hang out for a bit. Looks like you were already busy, though." He smirked knowingly. I punched his arm.

"Shut up, Emmett. It was nothing. She tripped and I caught her." I explained.

"Sure, sure," he said. "Well, how was it, working with Isabella?"

"It's Bella," I corrected absentmindedly. I was snapped out of my reverie when the doorbell rang. A guilty expression came over Emmett's face.

"Oh, sorry." He apologized. "I forgot to tell you that the gang is coming over. Tanya asked me whether you were free or not, and I unthinkingly said that you were."

"How could you, Emmett?" I yelled. "You know that I can't stand Tanya these days. I don't know what it is with her. She gets on my nerves." I stomped towards the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Emmett asked.

"Well, I have to go and let in the people who you invited," I said angrily. I flung the door open. Tanya, Jessica, Mike and Tyler stood in the doorway. Tanya looked different today. She wore her hair in a ponytail, and a long sleeved top and jeans. Totally different from the mini clothes she usually wore.

"Hey Tanya, fully clothed today?" I joked.

"She's only like this because she's depressed." Jessica piped in.

"And why is she depressed?" I asked.

"Well, Mr. Banner wants me to organize the talent show, and apparently, he heard my cousin Bella singing, so he wants her to take part."

"Well, what's wrong with that?" I asked, confused. Tanya glared at me.

"You know what's wrong with that." She snapped. "and besides, she's so shy, nobody could boost her confidence by the time the talent show comes around." I spun around and glared at her.

"Oh yeah?" I challenged. "I bet that I can boost her confidence, and I will help her open up to people. And she will sing in the talent show." I held out my hand to Tanya.

"Aww, it's going to be so sad seeing you lose," Tanya said, her eyes amused. "What? Are you guys going to become friends now, or something?"

"She's not my friend, Tanya. We're just project partners. You should know that." She smiled satisfied.

"Well, as long as you keep it strictly professional…" She trailed off.

"You can bet on that," I said.

"You don't want to make any more bets today, Edward." She lightly laughed.

"Yeah, sure, Tanya,." I ran my hands through my hair, and sighed wearily.

"Well, Jessica, we're getting late for our appointment with the beautician. Seems like Edward has a solution to all of our problems." She gave me a light hug.

"See you around, Edward," She turned around and walked out the door, Jessica at her heels.

"Looks like it's just us guys," Tyler observed.

"Nice work, Sherlock," Emmett replied sarcastically.

"Are you seriously going to help Bella?" Mike asked. "I mean, it's no use. She's beyond help. Anyway, good luck. I promised my mom I would help her around the house today." He put on his jacket and left. Tyler said he needed to go, and he left, too.

"Are you sure you can do this?" Emmett asked tentatively.

"Of course I can. I can make sure Bella stays only as a bet," I snapped. "Besides, it's not as if we're friends or something. She hates me. It looks like I'm going to have to charm her, and help her get over her shyness problem."

Emmett had a troubled look in his eyes. "Look, Edward," he tried to reason with me. "You can't just delude yourself into thinking that you don't want to be her friend. The look in your eyes when you were holding her was so different, so right. I mean-"

"Can you cut the crap?" I asked angrily. "This is what I'm going to do, whether you like I or not."

"Fine," Emmett said softly. "I gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow at college." He went upstairs, got his car keys, and came back down. I walked with him outside, and watched him drive away. I _could_ keep it purely professional, couldn't I?

Meanwhile…. APOV

"So, where do you want to work on our project?" I asked Jasper. I was walking beside him through the corridors of college after the last bell rang.

"I was thinking we could go to this cool coffeehouse I've heard about all week. They have high speed internet, and we could get coffee, too." Jasper said. I smiled.

"Sure, that sounds great." I replied enthusiastically.

"So, do you like Phoenix so far?" he asked. I grimaced. He noticed the expression on my face immediately. "Let me guess, you don't like it."

"Well, the time we've been here hasn't been very good so far." I admitted. "I thought it would be completely different. Everyone seems to hate me." I could hear the sadness in my voice.

"Well, if you have the right attitude, I'm sure it'll all be ok. And besides, I don't hate you," he said, smiling.

"That's nice to know." I said lightly, but my heart fluttered. He didn't hate me! We walked out to his car. "Are you going to drive us?" I asked.

"Of course I'm going to… Who else would drive us?" He asked. I blushed. I got into the passenger's seat, and put on my seatbelt. We drove a couple of blocks and then Jasper pulled into the parking lot of a vintage looking coffeehouse.

"Um, Jasper? Are you sure this is the right place?" I asked.

"Yup," he replied. "Just follow me." I walked behind him. Once we went through the doors, I gasped. It was amazing. The cafe had a vintage touch, and modern things like some computers. Light country music was playing softly in the background.

"What did I tell you?" Jasper teased, seeing my amazed expression.

"You were totally right," I admitted. "This place is so cool."

"Now, let's order some coffee and get to work. What kind of coffee do you want?"

"I'll have a cappuccino," I replied. "coffee makes me very energetic, so I hope you can handle that."

"Of course I can," Jasper said, laughing. "Why else would I agree to come here with you?"

"Maybe 'cause I'm fun," I suggested, leaning forward.

"Hmm, I think that was the decided factor," He said solemnly, leaning towards me. We were so close…

"Your coffee," the busboy placed the tray on the table in front of us. I jumped back.

"Thanks," I stuttered.

"Can I get you anything else?" he asked.

"No thank you, that'll be ok," Jasper said, not taking his eyes off me.

"So, let's work on our project," I said. I could not lose focus. We started working on our project. My heart was still racing.

**'Kay, I want you guys to tell me if it's good or not. I'l probably be updating my other stories tomorrow, so keep an eye out for that. Please review !!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Like I said in my other two chapters which I updated today (which all of you should read, lol) I'm REALLY sorry that I haven't updated in a long time. But anyway here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 10**

APOV

After we finished up that day's work, I leaned back in my chair, exhausted. I didn't think it would be so tiring. _God, the first day at the new college, and I'm already so drained_.

"So Alice," Jasper said with a twinkle in his eyes. "You said you wanted to do something after we finished working… Still up for it?"

"Another day," I mumbled, not opening my eyes. "Jasper, can you drop me off at my house? I think we should go now." I wondered what Bella was doing, and whether she managed to reach home in one piece. I knew that she really hated Edward. In fact, even I despised him for the cruel jokes he played on us when we first came. He humiliated Bella in front of everyone, and even after that he joked around with her as if nothing. I swear, he was crazy. I would have to help her with that psycho.

"Sure," Jasper agreed. "Let's just pay the bill and then we'll go. Why don't you go and wait by the car, I'll just pay the bill and join you." I didn't have the energy to protest like I normally would have, so I dragged myself outside. Jasper soon came out and he dropped me off at home. I trudged up to our room, where Bella was sitting on her bed and reading her Biology book.

"Bella!" I exclaimed. "When did you get home?"

"About half an hour ago," she had an undecided look on her face. I just stared at her. She saw me staring. "What?" She asked. I shook my head. "So how did you project go?"

"It was good," I replied. "Jasper is a lot of fun. How about yours? Was Edward too much trouble?"

"No, he wasn't." I could hear the surprise in her voice. "But I don't think that I should trust him. His type aren't the kind that you can trust."

"Well, I just want to go to sleep," I said. "You won't believe how exhausted I am." Bella still had a dazed expression on her face. "What's wrong with you?" She snapped out of her reverie.

"Nothing." She stood up. "I think that I should get ready for bed, too." She walked into the bathroom and shut the door.

**BPOV**

Alice and I both slept early that night. I hadn't realized it, but I was pretty tired, too. The next day, I woke up bright and early. I didn't bother asking Tanya for a ride to college, because she wasn't even awake yet. I wanted to get there early to look up some books in the library.

Surprisingly, the college was only about 10 minutes by foot. I walked through the corridors, trying not to make any noise, since it was so silent. Wow, there was not a soul in sight. I tripped over something soft. I managed to regain balance and looked down to see what it was that I had tripped over. It was someone's foot. I looked up and saw Edward trying to contain his laughter. When I looked at him, he burst out laughing. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"What?" He asked innocently. "Sorry, but you're just too easy to target." I rolled my eyes and walked the other way. "Fine, fine, wait." He called. I ignored him. He grabbed my hand. I let out a deep breath and spun around. I pulled my hand out of his grasp.

"Just leave me alone," I said, irritated. He smirked. OK, so I was totally wrong yesterday. Edward Cullen was a jerk and always would be. I didn't know how I deluded myself into thinking that he actually had feelings. I saw that the girls washroom was just a few feet away and quickly went in. I leaned against the wall and sighed in relief. So much for getting work done. I silently cursed Edward. He was just getting more and more on my nerves with each passing minute.

Too soon, Biology class came and I knew that I was dreading it because I had to sit next to Edward. I had other classes with him, but he wasn't next to me in those classes. I hesitantly made my way into the class and was relieved when I saw that he wasn't there yet. I continued reading from where I had left off last night.

"Hey, Edward!" I heard a boy from the back call. I cringed. I continued reading, and pretended to not notice when he sat next to me.

"Hi, Bella," he said in an irresistible voice. _At least that's what he thought_, I thought. "Thinking about me?" I ignored him. "It's not uncommon for girls to get lost in my thoughts." _What an arrogant idiot_, I thought. I closed my eyes and put my head in my arms, trying to block out his voice. I heard everyone become quiet when the teacher came in, so I lifted my head. I put my full concentration into the topic which he was teaching. Ah, it was one of my favorite topics, DNA and genes. I was so interested in the class, that I didn't have to pretend not to notice Edward's futile attempts at talking to me. I genuinely didn't notice. When the bell rang, I was zapped back into reality.

"Hello?" Edward's voice rang our next to me. I let out a deep breath. Here we go again. "Just because you don't like me, doesn't mean you have to ignore me." I rolled my eyes and stood up abruptly.

"Hey, Edward," I heard Tanya say to him. I took that as a chance to escape and silently walked out of the classroom. I went to the library and found the books that I wanted. I sat down at one of the tables and started to read.

**EPOV**

"Hi, Tanya," I smiled at her. It wasn't genuine, but it looked like it satisfied her, because she smiled back at me.

"How's your project with Bella going?" I was taken aback by her question. Why on Earth did she want to know?

"Well, we finished about 10 our of 15 pages of the project and-"

"No, Edward, I'm talking about the whole talent show thing. It's in two weeks. I wouldn't want poor Bella to be silent on stage, like she is all the time." Tanya said with a mocking look. Jessica laughed lightly. "And you know that day after tomorrow is the audition. You know that everyone taking part in the talent show has to go through the audition first."

"I know that, Tanya, I'm trying." I said exasperatedly.

"If you ask me, you shouldn't have accepted a bet that you know you're going to lose." She said. "By the way, we haven't specified the conditions."

"What conditions?" I asked.

"What happens when you lose the bet." She said, as though stating the obvious. I rolled my eyes.

"Excuse me, but I'm going to win." I said confidently.

"We'll see," she said.

But I wasn't so sure. Despite all my efforts to charm Bella, she was just avoiding me. How could I transform her in a confident person in two weeks and get her to sing at the talent show? Forget that, what about the audition? I was going to have to resort to new tactics in order to crack Bella.

**Edward changed... or did he? He's still the same mischievious Edward.. no strings attached. He will change though. Just not yet. Anyway, please review!! **


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey everyone !! Here's the next chapter !!! This is the longest chapter I've written till date, lol. My internet connection was down for a few days, but now it's up again so I can update !! Anyway, hope you guys like it. Someone had requested it, so I added more Rosalie and Emmett. Enjoy:**

Chapter 11

BPOV

I was thankful when Tanya started talking to Edward, because it meant that I could leave. How could Edward change overnight like that? Unless he hadn't really changed in the first place. He was probably just pretending when he told me all those things that day when I went to his house to work on our project. Anyway, right now I had other things to worry about. Like the talent show which was coming up. I couldn't believe that my name was taken down for it. I couldn't sing in front of an audience, I just couldn't. Alice was bent on dancing in the talent show, but she couldn't find a partner. The last I heard, she was going up to random people and asking them whether they would be her dance partner.

"Hi, Bella," Alice chirped from behind me.

"Hi, Alice," I looked around to make sure that Edward was nowhere in sight. If he had heard Alice call my name, he would've started to annoy me again.

"What's wrong?" She looked around, too.

"Ugh, you won't believe it. I've been avoiding Edward all day." I sighed. She raised her eyebrows.

"Why?" She asked.

"Because he's a stupid idiot with no feelings," I said. She pretended to gasp at my choice of words.

"Not that I object, but since when have you started to call people idiots?" Alice giggled.

"Since I met Edward. He just doesn't leave me alone." I said, irritated. "So have you found yourself a dance partner?"

"No," she said sadly. "Nobody seems to want to be my dance partner. I just don't understand why."

"Hey," I piped up, suddenly remembering. "Have you asked Jasper?"

"Oh, I didn't even think about that. I'll go and ask him right now! Thanks for the suggestion." She told me that she would meet up with me later, and left to look for Jasper. Sometimes Alice was so absentminded. Someone tapped on my shoulder.

"Alice, I thought you-" I broke off mid-sentence when I saw who it was. Edward Cullen. Oh no.

"What?" I asked, bluntly.

"I just came to see if you're ok. I mean, you left all of a sudden, so…" He smiled that stupid charming smile at me. I looked away and sighed.

"Can't you just leave me alone?" I asked. I started to walk away. Edward kept pace with me.

"Actually, I can't, and do you want to know why?" When I didn't reply, he continued, "It's because you fascinate me. You're not like any of the other girls here."

"Oh, really?" I spun around and looked at him. I was sure he could feel the anger radiating off me. "Is that why you're behind me? Because you think I would make an interesting experiment. We'll sorry to burst your bubble, but I am never going to let a guy like you get to me. Clear?" I walked swiftly away. I could tell that he hadn't followed me, and with relief, I wondered whether he finally got the point.

EPOV

"Edward, I've been looking for you all over. What's up, man?" Emmett walked over to me, hand in hand with his girlfriend, Rosalie Hale. Rosalie was one of the most beautiful girls in the college, but being my best friend's girlfriend, I had no interest in her.

"What's wrong, Edward?" She laughed lightly. "I've never seen you speechless." I glared angrily at her, and then at Emmett. He just shrugged his shoulders.

"Do you know something that I should know about, Rose?" I asked slowly.

"Yes, you should know that I know everything about the bet and whatever has been going on between you and this Bella. Emmett told me." She pointed at Emmett who was all of a sudden interested in his shoes.

"Emmett, I thought we had a deal. You weren't supposed to tell anyone." I half-shouted at him.

"Well, you know, Ed," I narrowed my eyes at her use of that nickname, "Being a girl had advantages."

"What do you mean?" I asked, still annoyed that Emmett told Rosalie everything.

"Well, I _could_ talk to Bella and maybe I could convince her that you're not that bad." She said.

"Thanks, but there's no way you can convince her by day after tomorrow. She needs to sing in the audition, too." I reminded her.

"Well, take it or leave it. But you should know that you've got to start somewhere." She raised her eyebrows as if challenging me to reject her suggestion.

"You know something, Rosalie Lillian Hale?" A wide smile spread across my face. She winced at the use of her full name. "You just might be right, this time. So when will you talk to her?"

"Are you crazy? I need to introduce myself and stuff, first. I can't jst go up to her and start talking about all this stuff." Rosalie said. I leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.

"Hey, dude, watch it, ok? That's my girlfriend you just kissed." Emmett growled.

"Chill, man. She's going to be exclusively your forever. And besides, I love her too, though not in that way. She's like a sister to me. You should know that." I patted him on the back. I turned back to Rosalie.

"Come on, get on the mission. We need to do it as fast as possible. Thanks so much for doing this." I winked at her.

"Yeah, well I'll see you guys later." She hugged Emmett and kissed him.

"Love ya," I shouted as she started to walk away from us. She turned around and smiled and blew me a kiss. I laughed when I saw Emmett's expression. Rose and I loved to tease him. But it all turned out fine in the end, because I knew that Rosalie and Emmett loved each other more than anyone else in this world. They were the epitome of love.

"What the hell, dude? You were just flirting with my girlfriend, right in front of me. " Emmett pretended to be angry.

"Yeah, well you know we're just foolin' with you." I laughed again. His expression was just too hilarious.

"Come on," He pushed me along towards the canteen.

BPOV

I could see Edward talking to his friend, the one who had walked in on us dancing that afternoon. A beautiful, blonde-haired girl was with them, too. I could sense, just by watching them, that the three of them shared some kind of special bond. As the girl was leaving Edward had shouted, "Love ya!" This had surprised me, for I had seen her kiss the other boy just minutes ago. Not knowing what to make of it, I shook my head, trying to dismiss the thoughts about them which were swirling around in my head. I thought about heading down to my next class, but since there was still fifteen minutes, I finally settled on reading the book which Alice had given me for my birthday.

"So, you read Robin Cook, too?" A melodic voice asked me. I looked up from my book and into the face of the beautiful blonde girl with whom Edward had been talking to.

"Well, yeah, my sister gave it to me for my birthday. He's a superb author. You really should read it some time." I said.

"Mind if I join you?" She asked, hesitantly. I stacked my books neatly and kept near me.

"Not at all. I'm Bella Swan, by the way." I held out my hand, wondering whether people here shook hands when they met.

"Rosalie Hale," She shook my hand, much to my surprise. "I know you're new here, so I just thought I would introduce myself. Everyone needs a friend, and I know how hard it is to make friends when you move to a new place." There was a warmth in her voice which I had not heard in anyone else's. "How do you like Phoenix so far?" The smile faded from my face.

"Well, it hasn't been all that good." I confessed. I told her about what had happened when we came. I sensed that she wouldn't tell anyone about it, though I doubted that there was anybody who didn't know about it.

"I'm really sorry about that," sincerity echoed in every word she spoke. "But you can't judge everyone by what a few people do."

"Um, Rosalie could I ask you something?" I shifted in my spot uncomfortably. "How do you know Edward Cullen? And that other guy with curly brown hair?" I was nervous that she would get upset and accuse me of intruding in her personal life, but she just smiled.

"Oh, the one with curly, brown hair is my boyfriend, Emmett McCarty and Edward Cullen is his best friend. I've known both of them ever since high school. What do you think of Edward, by the way?" She asked curiously.

"I think he's jerk. He has no respect for people and doesn't care about anyone but himself. If you'll excuse me, I need to get to my next class. I'll see you later."

"Bye," She said as I got up and scooped up my books. As I rounded the corner, I instantly felt guilty about blowing her off like that when she mentioned Edward. I couldn't understand what was wrong with me. I got angry every time I heard his name. Why couldn't I just pretend like I had never met him? I took a deep breath and steadied myself. Then I turned and walked back to where Rosalie was still sitting and tapped on her shoulder.

"Listen, I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have gotten upset with you like that. It's not your fault, but it's just that ever since I've met Edward, he's done nothing but trouble me, and I guess I just took out my anger on you. Still friends?" I smiled nervously.

"Of course," She grinned at me. "And don't worry about it. I know that he can be annoying at times. See you later, Bella." I headed towards my next class, feeling considerably lighter, and glad that I had made a new friend.

**So, there you are. I really want more reviews, so could you just take 2 minutes to send me a little message whether you liked it or not. Also give me your suggestions as to how Alice and Jasper fall in love. I'm not quite sure about that yet, but they will fall in love before Bella and Edward. Anyway, please review !!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Heyyy !! Here's the next chapter. Hope you like it !!**

RPOV

I watched as Bella disappeared around the corner, and then pulled out my cell phone and dialled a number. After a couple of rings the person picked up.

"Hey, Edward?" I asked. "We need to talk. Meet me in the canteen in 10 minutes. Bring Emmett, too, if he's with you. Is he?"

"Hey, Rose. Sorry, he's not with me right now, but just give him a call. He might already be in the canteen. See you in a few," He hung up. I dialled Emmett's cell phone number. He picked up on the third ring.

"Hey, sweetie, what's up?" He asked. I smiled.

"Hey, where are you?" I asked.

"Canteen, why?" He replied.

"Just checking. Stay there, ok? Edward and I will be there in a few minutes. Bye." I hung up. Sometimes Emmett was so predictable. I walked to the canteen and found Edward and Emmett already deep in conversation.

"Hey guys," I greeted.

"What's up, Rose? Did you get a chance to speak to Bella?" Edward asked.

"Yes, and that's why I called you both here," I told them about my conversation with Bella. I turned to Edward. "If you hurt her, I swear to God I will hurt you. I've only just met her, but I can tell that she's a good person. And you just don't go around betting on good people. So Edward, promise me you will let go of this whole thing after the bet is over." He nodded once, which I understood to be his agreement. "I need to get to class. I've already been late a few times. My teacher will kick me out if I don't get there on time. See you guys later." I kissed Emmett on the cheek and slung my bag over my shoulder.

EPOV

"I guess Rosalie really likes Bella if she's actually threatened me," I mumbled as I watched her leave.

"You don't want to get her started," Emmett agreed. "So what are you going to do?"

"Well, I think I should still try to talk to Bella. What say?" I asked him.

"Maybe you should take it easy. And as much as I hate to say this, but stop being a jerk in front of Bella." Emmett raised his eyebrows at me.

"What?" I argued. "It's my style, though. Girls love it!"

"Have you ever thought that maybe Bella doesn't?" Emmett said. I sighed, and wondered where to approach from, if not from my usual angle. Taking a decision, I stood up abruptly.

"Hey, dude, where are you going?" Emmett inquired.

"To find Bella and try again." I simply said. I searched throughout the whole school for her. Classes were going on right now, so I waited patiently until the bell rang. I wasn't sure what class she had but I was determined to find her. I looked everywhere, but she was nowhere to be seen. When the last bell rang, I disappointedly walked out to my car and drove home. Tyler told me he wanted to go to this new club, just us guys, so I thought I should get ready. I put on a white shirt and black jeans. Spraying a little cologne on, I checked myself in the mirror. I decided to take out my bike today. There was nothing like a little wind in your hair, and the thrill of riding a motorcycle. Before I stepped out, I dialled Tyler to tell him that I would get there a little late. I had completely forgotten that I had some errands to run. The phone rang a few times before someone picked up.

"Hello?" a sweet voice answered. I instantly recognised it as Bella's voice.

"Hi," I felt myself smiling.

"Who is this?" She asked. I was silent for a moment.

"It's Edward. Can I talk to Tyler?" I hoped that he wasn't there, so that I could talk to Bella instead.

"Actually he's not here right now. Can I take a message?" She sounded like she was getting irritated.

"Well in that case, just tell him I'll be a little late in coming to the Flamingo." I informed her.

"The what?" She said, clearly confused. I suddenly had an idea.

"The Flamingo. Haven't you heard about it?" I asked her, enjoying myself.

"No," She replied bluntly.

"You should come, too," I said.

"You want me to come to The Flamingo? I'm not going to come. I'll tell Tyler you called. Bye." She hung up the phone before I could say anything else, leave me stupefied. This girl was so different from the rest, she amazed me.

Tanya's POV

"You want me to come to The Flamingo? I'm not going to come. I'll tell Tyler you called. Bye." Bella said and hung up the phone. Mystified as to who had called, I walked up to her.

"Hey, Bella." I smiled my fake smile at her.

"Oh, hi Tanya." She replied, flustered.

"Whose phone was it?" I had an idea of who it might be but just to confirm…

"It was Edward," She replied. I exhaled angrily. Why had Edward invited Tyler to The Flamingo and not me? And further, why had he invited _Bella_ of all people? There was something wrong with scenario. Edward wouldn't invite _Bella_ without inviting me. Unless…. Yes, I had the perfect plan. Now to set it in motion…

BPOV

"Umm, Bella," Tanya asked hesitatingly. "Can I ask you a favour?"

"Sure," I replied, smiling, glad to be of help. "What do you need?"

"Well, I was wondering I you would come out with me. I needed to buy a few things." She looked at me hopefully.

"Well, I don't know," I pondered. "It's getting late."

"Please, Bella?"

"OK, fine. Let me go and put on a jacket." I sighed, defeated. I could never resist helping anyone; it was my nature to be helpful and friendly. I wondered why with Edward, he always brought out the unfriendly side of me. Why was I thinking about him now? When I got up to the room, Alice was leaning against a pile of pillows and poring through one of her books. She looked up when I walked in.

"Hey, where are you going?" She asked.

"Tanya asked me if I could go with her to buy a few things. You know I can't refuse anyone. I won't be long."

"OK," She said, shrugging her shoulders. I guess she didn't know what to say, because once I made my mind up about something, nobody could deter me from finishing it. You could say that I was stubborn, but I liked to call it focussed. I met Tanya near her car, and we drove out of the garage. Once we reached the main road, it was just a confusing array of roads. At least it was like that to me. Tanya probably knew the roads here much better than I did. Neither of us said anything, and it was better that way. After a while, we stopped in front of a brightly lit building which said… oh no, The Flamingo. Why had Tanya brought me here? I stepped out of the car and turned to look at Tanya.

"Why are we here, Tanya?" I asked inquisitively. She shook her head and gestured for me to follow. We walked through the front door into the coolness of the building, and through the mass of dancing bodies. I came to a standstill when I saw a familiar person swaying to the music at one side of the room. When he saw me, he stood up straight.

"Bella?" He asked, shocked and surprised.

Edward? Things were starting to fall into place.

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